Hanna Named New Head Coach At Montoursville

Tagged under: Coaches Corner, District 4, News

Ed Weaver | March 18, 2023

Earlier this winter Joe Hanna was tabbed to be Montoursville’s next head coach. However, he was thrown into the fire last season when Mike Boughton fell ill with cancer just prior to the start of the season.

Hanna would take on the role of interim head coach, guiding the Warriors to a 4-7 season and a berth in the District IV Class 3A playoffs, despite a whirlwind of emotions.

“Our coaching staff and players made the transition to me taking over as interim head coach seamless this past season,” said Hanna. “We had a great group of seniors this year and they led by example. Our players took it week by week and the team did a great job of just focusing on the game to be played that week. I am extremely proud of how the team dealt with all the adversity they faced this year: from all the issues Coach Boughton was going through, to injuries happening during the season to key players, and having the most difficult schedule in the second half of the season that I can ever remember in my twenty years coaching football at Montoursville.”

While this may be Hanna’s first stint as head coach, he is no stranger to the game. A 1997 graduate of Lock Haven, where he played both football and basketball, Hanna went on to play collegiately at Lycoming under Frank Girardi, and was named team captain in 2000. Hanna started at Montoursville in 2002, coaching under both Jim Bergen and J.C. Keefer.

Coaching has been a passion of Hanna’s for a long time. Hanna credits his father for instilling that in him, and he was reminded of it last season by the Montoursville community.

“It was amazing to see all the support from the Montoursville community during the 2022 season. The community and football team raised thousands of dollars to help Coach Boughton and his family in their time of need. To see how much time and effort people were willing to give to help Coach Boughton and our football program was uplifting during this tumultuous time. On a personal level the dedication of our coaching staff to come together during this season reminded me why I coach at Montoursville and decided to take over the head coaching job permanently. I’m extremely grateful from all the help I’ve gotten from all the coaches who mentored me throughout my time at Montoursville and in my playing days. I have had no greater influence than my father who coached at Lock Haven High School and Central Mountain for 40+ years. To say that I have been blessed to be around great men in the football coaching world would be an understatement and I feel all of them helped me prepare for this past season and all its trials and tribulations.”

Now Hanna has the task of finalizing his staff for this year, keeping his players active with their off-season workouts, and learning the ins and outs of being a head coach.

“Long term I want to continue the tradition of Montoursville football that has been established by my predecessors with success both on the field and in the classroom,” Hanna concluded. “Football to me has always been more about just coaching players and playing games, it is about molding great young men who are ready to go out into this world and be successful in life. I hope to continue to do that in my new role as head coach.”

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